A trans teacher at a Texas high school has resigned after becoming the target of conservative backlash and online attacks.
Rosie Sandri came out as a trans woman about seven months ago. Her colleagues at Red Oak high school and the Red Oak independent school district were very supportive, she recalled to NBC News.
Sandri posted videos speaking about her life as a trans woman and teacher on TikTok. Last week, the rightwing social media account Libs of TikTok posted one of Sandri’s TikTok videos.
“When I first saw the Libs of TikTok post, I was bitterly unsurprised. I know what they have done to other trans teachers in the past,” Sandri told the Guardian.
“The hateful comments weren’t surprising. I’m used to bigotry and hate. The only thing that did surprise me is the kindness that I received from people.”
In the video, Sandri spoke about “gender euphoria”. “They call me ma’am. They call me miss. They use my correct pronouns and know my correct name, and it is incredibly affirming,” she said in the TikTok video describing her positive experiences with her students.
In the post, Libs of TikTok deadnamed and also misgendered her.
“Would you feel comfortable with this person teaching your kid?” the account wrote.
This post led to a slew of online backlash towards Sandri, including death threats and an email sent to her school address telling her to eat a bullet, she told the Dallas Morning News.
Brian Harrison, a state representative in the town where the school is located, shared Libs of TikTok’s post on X, demanding that Sandri be “immediately terminated”.
“Public schools (and the property taxes that fund them) are for education … not leftist indoctrination!” Harrison wrote, before saying he was in communication with the school.
On Monday, Sandri said she came to an agreement with the school that she would resign. The deputy superintendent reportedly told her the school had received threats as well.
Though Sandri says she was “heartbroken” from having to leave her teaching position, she says she will always prioritize her students’ safety. She is also overwhelmed by the outpouring of support she’s received.
“My students have been blowing up my TikTok account, telling me how much they miss me and how much they love me, and I see it every morning and it makes some of this OK,” she said.
“Their parents have been doing the same. It’s been really overwhelming, but it’s nice to know that you’ve had that kind of impact.”
Sandri says she has not let the online attacks scare her away from spreading positivity via social media.
“If anything, it has hardened my resolve. I’m not going to be scared into some kind of silence,” she said. “I’m a human being with the same constitutional rights as anybody else. I’m going to post every day.”
She also hopes that her students and other young people watching this incident play out will see that this is only one part of broader and ongoing attacks on the rights of trans people.
“This situation is not about me. It goes far beyond me,” she said. “If they’re aware of this issue for the first time because of me, don’t just make this about me – go out and help trans people because they really need it.”
The Red Oak independent school district did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.